Images from Thursday's second T20I between India and Bangladesh, at Rajkot.
Skipper Rohit Sharma made it a memorable 100th T20 International, blending grace with brutality while scoring 85 off 43 balls, as India cantered to a series-levelling eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh, in Rajkot, on Thursday.
Chasing an easy target of 154 he showed the gulf in class between him and the others on the park, hitting six fours and half a dozen risk-free sixes, as India won in 15.4 overs.
The final game in the three-match T20 series will be played in Nagpur on November 10.
Such was Rohit's dominance during the 118-run opening stand that it overshadowed Shikhar Dhawan's (31 off 27 balls) wretched form.
Rohit teed off in the fourth over of the innings with an off-drive, followed by a cover drive and then a straight six off Mustafizur Rahaman.
It was difficult for Bangladesh to comeback from that point as India’s captain got boundaries and sixes at will.
Pacer Shafiul Islam was given the charge and hit over long-on for a six, and slog-sweep off spinner Afif Hossain brought up his 18th half-century in this format.
When off-spinner Mosaddek Hossain Saikat (0/21 in 1 over) tried to come around the wicket to try a negative line, Rohit hammered him for three sixes in the arc between long-on and mid-wicket.
Just when a fifth hundred in the T20 format looked there for the taking, Rohit was out trying to hit a seventh six.
Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul then completed the formalities with 26 balls to spare.
Earlier, India’s bowlers, led by Yuzvendra Chahal, staged an impressive comeback to restrict Bangladesh to a sub-par 153 for 6.
Put in to bat, Bangladesh failed to capitalize on a good start, as Chahal's (2-28) double breakthrough in the 13th over pegged the visitors back.
A quick-fire 30 off 21 balls by skipper Mahmudullah Riyad helped them cross the 150-mark.
Openers Liton Das (29 off 21 balls, 4x4) and Mohammad Naim (36 off 31 balls, 5x4) shared a 60 runs opening stand.
Naim slammed profligate left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed (1-44 from 4 overs) for three successive boundaries to begin on a rousing note.
Seamer Deepak Chahar (1-25) and off-spinner Washington Sundar (1-25) stemmed the flow of runs but Khaleel's poor show continued.
Chahal, on being introduced, almost removed a set Liton, but Rishabh Pant's urge to complete the glovework behind the stumps quickly gave the batsman a lifeline.
Television replays showed that while whipping the bails off, Pant collected the ball in front of the stumps and, hence, the delivery was declared a no-ball.
As per the laws, every part of the wicketkeeper's gloves has to be behind the stumps.
Das then hammered two successive fours to add insult to injury.
He got another reprieve on 26 after skipper Rohit Sharma dropped him at square-leg following a mix-up with Shivam Dube and Pant. But Pant made up for his mistake and ran Das out with a direct hit in the eighth over, to break the opening stand.
Das's wicket slowed the scoring rate and that put Naim under pressure, and he offered a dolly to Shreyas Iyer at deep-mid-wicket off Washington, as Bangladesh slumped were 83 for 2 in the 11th over.
And then Yuzvendra picked two wickets in the 13th over. Mushfiqur Rahim (4 off 6 balls) offering a sitter to Krunal Pandya and when he removed a set Soumya Sarkar (30 off 20 balls; 2x4, 1x6), stumped by Pant, Bangladesh were struggling at 103 for 4.
Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain (6) steadied the ship with a 25 run-stand but Khaleel broke the stand, dismissing Hossain to leave Bangladesh teetering at 128 for 5. They managed to cross the 150-run-mark even though the bowlers bowled in the right areas.
